KEY TEAM BIOS

Dafna Yachin
Director / Producer

Dafna has directed award-winning television, ﬁlm, commercial, and multimedia productions for three decades. Her documentaries have aired on CBS, ABC, Discovery, SyFy, and many SVODs. Dafna is the recipient of grants from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, The Frick Foundation, the Monica Flaherty-Frassetto Trust, and the Wyncote Foundation. Her Oscar qualifying feature documentary, Digital Dharma: One Man’s Mission to Save a Culture, enjoyed a 10th anniversary re-release with her new book published by Wisdom Press. Her directorial feature narrative debut, starring Teri Polo in Relative Control, was just picked up by Gravitas. Her indie documentary Far From Home follows Ukrainian refugee children finding healing and hope in Northeast Philadelphia through intergenerational art therapy with Holocaust survivors. The film is in post-production and slated for PBS after a festival run.

Ted Passon
Executive Producer

Ted is the award-winning director behind the critically acclaimed docuseries Philly D.A., which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, It was named, “One of the best TV shows of 2021” by the likes of The NY Times, Variety, The Washington Post and Vulture, winning awards at the Peabodys, the Gothams and the Dupont-Columbia Award for Journalistic Excellence. Ted is a 2018 Sundance Catalyst Fellow and a 2016 Sundance Lab Creative Summit Fellow. He is also the recipient of the Pew Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship Grant and the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant. His newest documentary for Hulu, “Patrice: The Movie,” debuted at TIFF, where it won the audience award.

Sam Lemon
Author / Producer

A retired professor and former director of a graduate program at Neumann University, Sam earned his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in Education, Culture, and Society. He has worked across social services, education, and public media, including a role in community engagement and outreach at WHYY in Philadelphia. His book, The Case That Shocked the Country, investigates the wrongful conviction and 1931 execution of 16-year-old Alexander McClay Williams—a case rooted in Sam’s own family history. His maternal ancestors, once runaway slaves, were sheltered by Quakers in Delaware County and went on to become respected community leaders. Sam continues to write and consult on issues of race, justice, and historical memory.

Moon Molson
Story / Script Editor

Moon Molson’s short films have screened at over 250 international film festivals, and won over 100 awards worldwide, including the Grand Jury Prizes at Palm Springs, South by Southwest (SXSW),
and the Student Academy Award. He has been a selected attendee of the Sundance Screenwriters Labs and the Film Independent (FIND) Directors Labs, He was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and has received grants from The Jerome Foundation, Sundance Institute and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation among others. A member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), Moon is currently an Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at Princeton University.

Hillary Hanak - Newman
Producer / Cinematographer

An award-winning Director of Photography, Hillary has worked with the Foo Fighters on their documentary Sound City, and with the Jonas Brothers on Chasing Happiness. Her passion to see Alexander’s story be told is fueled by her dedication to the community she comes from and with a professional aim to tell stories with a message that matters. Hillary is the Treasurer of Philadelphia Women in Film and Television (PWIFT).

Dafna Yachin

Director / Producer

E: dafna@lunchboxcity.com

M: 215.264.3135

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY | RT:90 MINUTES

Social Justice, Civic Engagement, History

THE TRIALS OF Alexander McClay Williams